9/10/2013

EASY ALL-NATURAL PEACH JAM

When I made my last recipe, I thought I was totally done with peaches for the season. But the other day, I was thinking about my grandmother. It's around this time of year that she would make all of her jams and preserves for the winter. When I was younger, we would spend Thanksgiving at her house in the country - dirt roads and a one street light kind of country. We would always have a big breakfast - even the morning of Thanksgiving. Breakfast would always include a jam or preserve served in a Ball jar. I remember thinking, "That is NOT Smuckers!" Smuckers was what I was used to at home. So I never wanted to eat my grandmother's jam, but I did anyway out of respect and always thought it was so good. Now that I'm older, I have a greater appreciation for the real thing. I wish my grandmother was here so I could tell her that and ask her to make me just one more batch. I wish I could tell her that I now know how to make my own jam. I have to believe that she would be proud...

I never got her recipe, so I researched a few all-natural recipes and settled on a variation of this one by Martha Stewart. And I am so glad I did. It tastes SO good and very similar to my grandmother's jam. Don't be alarmed by the amount of sugar here. It's not too sweet, but just sweet enough. I can only hope that I will be making this for my grandchildren one day...

1/ Add the peaches in batches to a food processor. Pulse the processor until the peaches are just chunky.

2/ Add the peaches to a saucepan and add the sugar, lemon juice and salt. Stir.

3/ Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Boil for about 10-12 minutes, or until the jam sticks to spoon. The mixture will foam and come close to the top of the pot as it boils, so be sure not to leave your stove during this process! If it looks like it is going to boil over, then reduce the heat slightly.

4/ Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool. Then transfer to a sterile jar and let it continue to cool in the refrigerator. I love Ball jars, but decided to make a new tradition by using these cute canning jars...

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